<p>Mids to play a team from the ACC</p>
<p>Nov. 6, 2006</p>
<p>ANNAPOLIS, Md.-Naval Academy Director of Athletics Chet Gladchuk announced Monday that as a result of Navy’s 38-13 victory over Duke, which made the Mids bowl eligible, the Naval Academy will participate in the Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 30 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised nationally by ESPN. Navy’s opponent has not been announced yet, but it will be against a team from the ACC. </p>
<p>“Our football program is right on track for another highly-successful year,” said Gladchuk. “Although we have a number of critical goals yet to achieve, it is certain that we will be in Charlotte on Dec. 30. I am pleased for Coach Johnson, the players, staff, Brigade of Midshipmen, alumni and our friends who continue to comprise a football family that is truly one of the most supportive and dedicated in the country. Charlotte is a terrific destination with a first-class bowl run by professionals who are among the best in the business. We are grateful for their confidence in Navy and, as has been the case over the past three postseasons, their community can count on Navy to deliver both on and off the field.” </p>
<p>“Today is a great day for the Meineke Car Care Bowl, as we welcome the U.S. Naval Academy to Charlotte to compete in our game,” said Bowl Executive Director Will Webb. “Navy has shown a great deal of character and heart this year in earning this bid. We are extremely pleased to host them in the 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl.” </p>
<p>“I’m excited the team has achieved one of their goals, to have a chance to go to a bowl game, and I’m excited to be going to Charlotte. It’s a great city and I’m sure the kids will have a great time,” said Navy head coach Paul Johnson. “Our focus right now is on Eastern Michigan. After today we won’t mention the bowl game again until after the Army-Navy game. It’s good to get it out of the way now. There’s no question where our focus needs to be and where it will be.” </p>
<p>Tickets will go on sale at 9 a.m. tomorrow morning. You can purchase tickets at <a href=“http://www.navysports.com%5B/url%5D”>www.navysports.com</a>, by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY or at the Ricketts Hall Box Office. Tickets are $75 for club seats, $55 for lower level seats and $30 for upper level seats. Fans not able to attend the game can purchase tickets to sponsor Midshipmen or enlisted personnel. </p>
<p>The team headquarters will be the Westin Charlotte, which is situated in the uptown financial district of Charlotte, North Carolina’s most exciting city. Anthony Travel will be offering all official travel packages and hotel rooms at the team headquarters hotel for the best available rates. To make your reservations online, or for more information, please visit Anthony Travel’s Official Meineke Car Care Bowl Tour web page at AnthonyTravel.com/Navy_BowlTour06.cfm. </p>
<p>The bowl bid is a landmark achievement for the football program as it marks the first time in school history that Navy has gone to four-straight bowl games. Navy can achieve another first by beating Army on Dec. 2 (2:30 p.m., CBS) and winning the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy for a fourth-consecutive year. </p>
<p>The Naval Academy has a national reputation as one of the best traveling teams in the country when it comes to bowl games. In 2003, Navy brought 25,000 fans to the Houston Bowl and nearly half of the student body attended the game. The crowd of 51,068 was a Houston Bowl record and outdrew 12 other bowl games. </p>
<p>In 2004, the Naval Academy brought 18,000 fans to the Emerald Bowl in San Francisco, and ranked as the seventh-most tickets sold among all bowl teams that year, an impressive number when you consider the fact Navy played in a bowl game more than 3,000 miles from Annapolis. The 18,000 tickets were more than the combined totals of the other five schools that had played in the Emerald Bowl previously. </p>
<p>In 2005, Navy sold 20,000 tickets for the Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego. With the number of Navy fans that bought tickets directly through the bowl game, Navy easily contributed 30,000-35,000 fans to the game. </p>
<p>The Meineke Car Care Bowl has averaged almost 64,000 fans each year and has sold out two of its four years. It has reached over 6.5 million television households. In 2003, it was named one of the five best start-ups in sports over the past five years by the Sports Business Journal, behind only the NFL Houston Texans and ESPN the Magazine.</p>
We need redemption for last year’s game in Baltimore.</p>